Like stocks, funds, and bonds, the investment in commercial hydroponic farming can yield 18 to 25% of return. However, unlike stocks, funds, and bonds; hydroponic farming brings in assured income and prevents the income from market fluctuations. There should not be any doubt about earning money from hydroponic farming.
With well strategic planning and appropriate research, hydroponic farming has proved itself as a great source of regular income. Check this article to get answers to all your queries.
Generate Agricultural Atmosphere
Hydroponic farming has earned much popularity in the recent past as it is the simplest systematic business for earning a high cash return on investment (ROI). It is true that in a country like India where the climatic conditions vary drastically, the growth of hydroponic farming is subject to investment. It is important to understand that irrespective of any climate, a hydroponic setup facilitates the right atmosphere for high yielding agricultural return.
Urban Locations
The selection of urban areas for hydroponic farming adds enormous scopes for quick buying and selling of exotic fruits and vegetables within justified price ranges. It is never suggested to initiate hydroponic farming in rural areas. Note that though you can have larger space in rural areas, still transportation and marketing can cut down your profit range.
Vertical Farming
To earn money from hydroponic farming, consider vertical farming. You can grow the selected crop on vertically arranged shelves, whereby you need to place one tray over another in a vertical manner. The selection of various kinds of microgreens and even mushrooms can be of great profit in the vertical mode of hydroponic farming. In a very compact area, you can grow the maximum count of these plants and can harvest them within 5 to 6 days. The reason for the extensive profitable return of such farming is its capability to yield maximum production per square metre or foot.
Meet Demands
Demands bring profitability to a business. In the case of hydroponic, always start by surveying the demands of your target market. The urban population is always in demand of baby potatoes, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, coloured capsicum, mushroom-buttons, purple cabbage, sweet corn, zucchini, and lettuce. Apart from these personal demands, for preparing Italian, Chinese, Mediterranean, and Mexican cuisines, the commercial demands of these products from the restaurants are also very high.
Right Products
In consideration of the availability of all kinds of vegetables in India, your hydroponic farm must stand out from the common trend. The vegetables and fruits that you choose to grow should be extremely seasonal for traditional Indian farming and should be imported. With internationally recognised hydroponics companies in India, you can start growing exotic products like basil, celery, cucumbers, dragon fruit, exotic mushrooms, fresh broccoli, green beans, green olives, hop asparagus, hot peppers, lettuce, parsley, strawberries, and tangy kiwis.
Time Factor
If you are trying to get a consistently growing profit margin from your hydroponic farming, then you must stick to the business for a minimum period of 1 year. Though the hydroponic farm will start showing considerable profit from the first harvest, still the cost of the setup will consume most of the ROIs. The 2nd and 3rd harvests, which will be at an average duration of a month, will start bringing a satisfactory amount of cash to your bank account.
Comparative Calculation
Against traditional farming, hydroponic farming can yield more than a range of 30 to 35% of traditional produce. The reason is hydroponic equipment can of adequate water and minerals to the plants without any loss. Moreover, with a balanced TDS and pH supply, the hydroponic plants can yield 25% more growth than plants on the soil. Unlike traditional farming, commercial hydroponic farming has just a one-time installation cost. In the case of India, you can start earning 2500 INR to 12000 INR from a single 4 feet to 5 feet planter placed on your balcony. Rest can be multiplied as per your space.
Cost of Setup
As mentioned above commercial hydroponic farming demands only a single cost for its setup cost. The costs noted below are for the Indian atmospheric conditions and market facilities.
Let us take an area of 3000 feet2. The cost estimations for the construct of the Polyhouse would be something around INR 400000 to 4500000. The cost of a one-time NFT system would be close to 8 to 9 lakhs. Note that this const will remain all-inclusive, which will comprise the cost of pipes of different sizes, connectors, tanks, stands, pumps, RO system, cups, TDS and pH metres, and above all cost of labour.
Cost per Cycle
After making the initial investment in the setup, you need to make further investments. These investments need to be calculated on a per month basis. The monthly investment per cycle would include electricity bills, hybrid seeds, fertilisers, labour (matter of choice), marketing, packaging, and transportation. Considering the Indian marketing conditions and cost of living you need to spend INR 60000 to 75000 per month. All these costs are subject to vary as per your farming location and profit margin expectations.
Profits on Produced
Considering your hydroponic farming in an area of 3000 feet2, you can grow any of the crops mentioned above. If we consider the farming of lettuce then the total amount of production would be close to 2200 to 2500 kgs. By restricting any kind of wastage this can be increased up to 3000 kg. By an average estimation of INR 250/kg in the urban markets of Indian metropolitan cities, including Pune and Bangalore; the produced lettuce will bring INR 750000 to you. As we deduct the initial investment from this earned amount then you can have a profit of INR of 460,000 per month. Hereby you can keep on deducting the one-time NFT system regularly and within 1 year you will start getting double the current profit margin.
Therefore, to earn a high profit in a short period choose hydroponic farming based on strategic plan and market research. Consistent support can be availed by considering a hydroponic joint venture with a reputed company. This will lessen all kinds of wastages of the crop and will bring in better scopes to earn money from hydroponic farming.
